bug#15068: `seq' prints the numbers from FIRST to (maybe almost) LAST by INCREMENT

[Pádraig Brady]

On 08/10/2013 04:20 PM, Bernhard Voelker wrote:
> On 08/10/2013 03:56 PM, address@hidden wrote:
>> (info "(coreutils) seq invocation")
>>
>>         ... seq [OPTION]... FIRST INCREMENT LAST
>>
>>        `seq' prints the numbers from FIRST to LAST by INCREMENT.  By
>>     default, each number is printed on a separate line.  When INCREMENT is
>>     not specified, it defaults to `1', even when FIRST is larger than LAST.
>>     FIRST also defaults to `1'.  So `seq 1' prints `1', but `seq 0' and
>>     `seq 10 5' produce no output.  Floating-point numbers may be specified.
>>     *Note Floating point::.
>>
>> OK but I think you forgot to mention cases like
>>
>> $ seq 0 5 17
>>
>> Will the last value printed be
>> 15, 17, or 20?
>> the user wonders. Hard to tell from the man/info page.
> 
> Thanks for the report.
> 
> The following should fix it.
> 
> Have a nice day,
> Berny
> 
>>From 4e9f5eb4e2f7614b74c1f930312acc455cc106e7 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
> From: Bernhard Voelker <address@hidden>
> Date: Sat, 10 Aug 2013 17:19:06 +0200
> Subject: [PATCH] doc: clarify when seq ends
> 
> * doc/coreutils.texi (seq invocation): Add a sentence clarifying
> that seq terminates when LAST becomes smaller than the current number
> plus INCREMENT.
> * src/seq.c (usage): Likewise.
> Fixes http://bugs.gnu.org/15068
> ---
>  doc/coreutils.texi | 3 +++
>  src/seq.c          | 2 ++
>  2 files changed, 5 insertions(+)
> 
> diff --git a/doc/coreutils.texi b/doc/coreutils.texi
> index aef5cc9..21216b4 100644
> --- a/doc/coreutils.texi
> +++ b/doc/coreutils.texi
> @@ -16810,6 +16810,9 @@ When @var{increment} is not specified, it defaults to 
> @samp{1},
>  even when @var{first} is larger than @var{last}.
>  @var{first} also defaults to @samp{1}.  So @code{seq 1} prints
>  @samp{1}, but @code{seq 0} and @code{seq 10 5} produce no output.
> +The sequence of numbers ends when the sum of the current number and
> address@hidden would become greater than @var{last},
> +so @code{seq 1 10 10} only produces @samp{1}.
>  Floating-point numbers may be specified.  @xref{Floating point}.
> 
>  The program accepts the following options.  Also see @ref{Common options}.
> diff --git a/src/seq.c b/src/seq.c
> index acbe235..35dfc8b 100644
> --- a/src/seq.c
> +++ b/src/seq.c
> @@ -87,6 +87,8 @@ Print numbers from FIRST to LAST, in steps of INCREMENT.\n\
>  \n\
>  If FIRST or INCREMENT is omitted, it defaults to 1.  That is, an\n\
>  omitted INCREMENT defaults to 1 even when LAST is smaller than FIRST.\n\
> +The sequence of numbers ends when the sum of the current number and\n\
> +INCREMENT would become greater than LAST.\n\
>  FIRST, INCREMENT, and LAST are interpreted as floating point values.\n\
>  INCREMENT is usually positive if FIRST is smaller than LAST, and\n\
>  INCREMENT is usually negative if FIRST is greater than LAST.\n\
> 

Looks good to me.

thanks,
Pádraig.